Meningitis caused by group B N. meningitidis and E. coli K1 remain major world health problems. Group B meningitis occurs in both endemic and epidemic situations and accounts for approximately half of all recorded cases of meningococcal meningitis, while K1-positive E. coli are the leading cause of meningitis in neonates. Currently there is no vaccine commercially available against disease caused by group B meningococci and E. coli K1. This is in large part due to the fact that the group B meningococcal polysaccharide (GBMP) is only poorly immunogenic in humans. There are some recently reported candidate vaccines based on complexes of the GBMP with outer membrane proteins, but, as yet, there is no clear evidence of their efficacy in humans.
Recently, a new concept of a vaccine based on a synthetic chemically modified (N-propionylated) group B polysaccharide-protein (N-Pr-GBMP-protein) conjugate has been developed. The vaccine induces in mice high titers of IgG antibodies which are not only protective, but also cross-react with unmodified GBMP (i.e. N-acetyl-GBMP). This concept is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,136, issued Feb. 23, 1988 to Harold J. Jennings et al.
It has been inferred that a vaccine which raises cross-reactive antibodies such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,136 could only be successful at the expense of breaking immune tolerance. This hypothesis is legitimized by the identification of a common epitope consisting of a chain of .alpha.-(2-8)-linked sialic acid residues (with a minimum requirement of ten residues) in both the native N-Ac-GBMP and in human and animal tissue (Jennings, Contrib. Microbiol. Immunol. Basel, Karger, 1989, Vol. 10, 151-165). These polysialosyl chains function as developmental antigens and have for the most part been associated with the fetal state in embryonic neural cell adhesion (Finne et al, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1983, 112, 482). During post-natal maturation, this antigen is down-regulated (Friedlander et al, J. Cell Biol. 1985, 101, 412) but is expressed in mature humans during the regeneration of diseased muscles (Cashman et al, Ann. Neuron., 1987, 21, 481) in tumor cells (Roth et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1988, 85, 299) and in natural killer (NK) and CD3.sup.+ T cells (Husmann et al, Eur. J. Immunol., 1989, 19, 1761. Although the consequences of breaking tolerance to these fetal antigens have not yet been established, it is generally conceded that, because of this cross-reaction, the N-Pr-GBMP-protein conjugate would be severely scrutinized by licensing agencies, resulting in considerable expense and delays because of the complex experimentation necessary to prove the safety of the vaccine before its approval for commercial marketing.
It is an object of the present invention to develop a vaccine having immunogenic properties which are enhanced as compared to those of the N-Pr-GBMP-protein. It is also an object of the invention to provide a vaccine which exhibits substantially reduced cross-reactivity with GBMP.